Students Explore Livable Communities

ABSTRACT

In 2006 and 2007, undergraduate and certificate students in gerontology at the University of Massachusetts Boston investigated the elder livability of seven area communities. Elder “livability” refers to features of a local community that support residents who wish to age in place—characteristics such as the availability of appropriate services, transportation options, and affordable housing. A survey developed by AARP guided the research and facilitated its completion within a single academic semester. With its potential to benefit both students and researched cities and towns, the Livable Communities project is recommended to gerontology educators and action researchers as a meaningful, real-world inquiry into factors affecting the ability of older adults to age in place.

KEYWORDS:

• Action research
• service learning
• livable communities
• aging in place

The following students who participated in the 2006 and 2007 Elder Action Research classes at the University of Massachusetts Boston are acknowledged for their contributions to this study: Karen Boyle, Kathryn Brotchie, Donna Choate Burns, Kristen Chan, Cynthia A. G. Duryee, Matthew Gauvain, Elizabeth Hagerty, Carrie Hall, Maureen A. Healey, Michele Hughes, Elizabeth A. Killeen, Chin Mei Li, Kathy Lloyd, Susan E. Lubin, Betty Ann MacRitchie, Wanjiku Mbuthi, Marie Menard, Yumi Nakagawa, Olivia Palagi, Derek Plude, Christine Roderick, Donna Rollins, Beatrice Shea, Gail Sleeper, Lucia G. Vanasse, and Marcia Zimmer. In addition, the project benefited from the expertise of doctoral candidate Kelly G. Fitzgerald, M.S., who advised on the development of the Emergency Preparedness Survey. Robert P. Geary kindly reviewed the manuscript prior to submission. Finally, we thank Audrey Straight, formerly of AARP, who inspired the original idea, and Michael E. O'Neal, AARP Livable Communities Coordinator, who nourished it.

Notes

1. Six communities were in the metro area, and one was a rural community in southwest Massachusetts.

2. Interested readers may request electronic copies of the Elder Action Research course syllabi and the modified survey instruments, including the student-designed Emergency Preparedness Survey, by contacting the lead author: [email protected].